It's not too late to make the most of your break. Start a small business, volunteer, or work for a political campaign to meet new people and advance your career.

You deserve the right to relax and reboot this summer, but how many days can you lie out by the pool? Getting involved in a new activity or project will not only look good on your resume, it'll enable you to meet new people and cultivate your interests. Plus, you'll be energized and motivated come fall, and able to apply your summer skills to your future career. We asked the experts for their tips on how to make your break both productive and pleasurable.

Volunteer for a political campaign.

"Working for a campaign, whether it's a local or a presidential race, is a fantastic opportunity to network and learn communicational and organizational skills," says Amanda Pouchot, co-founder of The Levo League, an online social network for young professional women. "You can develop as a young professional and meet a lot of people.

Start a small business.

"Why not make your summer productive and profitable?" says Lindsey Pollak, author of Getting from College to Career. "Depending on your interests and skills, there are lots of easy businesses to launch, such as tutoring, jewelry making, graphic design, gardening, and social media consulting. You would not believe the number of people who ask me if I know of a college student who would teach them how to use Facebook or Twitter! Employers are often impressed by the hard work and leadership it takes to launch and run a business on your own, especially in hard times."

Join an intramural sports team.

"Joining an intramural sports league kills two birds with one stone because you get to be active and social at the same time," says Jenny Blake, author of Life After College. "Meet new people while having some structured ercise time."

Intern at a start-up company.

"Start-ups offer a great opportunity to take on more responsibility than you would have in any other corporation," says Pouchot.

"You understand new trends in a way that's more organic than people who are older than you," adds Caroline Ghosn, co-founder of The Levo League. "The internship can be as short as three or four weeks; it doesn't have to be something traditional."

"It's so easy to carve out a space on the Internet," says Blake. "That could be Pinterest, a blog, a Tumblr, or Instagram. Building your own profile can be very empowering and creatively fulfilling."

Prepare for a standardized test.

"If you've just graduated from college, make sure to take any standardized test that you're thinking about taking, whether it's the GMAT, GRE, the LSAT, or the MCAT," says Pouchot. "Although the last thing you want to do is sit down and study, you will never have the freedom to study or the time to do so like you do now."

Start a new project.

"How about spending the summer taking on a project related to your area of career interest?" says Pollak. "A business major could read through every book on the Wall Street Journal business best-seller list and review each book on Amazon.com. An aspiring film industry worker could watch every film on the American Film Institute's list of 100 best films of all time. An aspiring curator could tour every museum in a 200-mile radius."

Do a personal assessment.

"One of the most important things you can do is get to know yourself," says Blake. "Take some time to do a personality assessment. What are your strengths? What are your interests? What would you do if money were not an object? All of those questions can really help you explore what you want to do. That's really important so that whenever you do start your job, you come into it knowing about who you are and what you want in life. I recommend using Strengths Finder 2.0."